Substitute Tea for Water?

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superjlau
superjlau Posts: 5 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know it's good to stay hydrated throughout the day, and I usually like drinking cold water because I heard it is better for you system (maybe?). But recently it's gotten colder, and I really like drinking hot tea. So my question is, is it okay to substitute tea for water?

Replies

  • MeganMac17
    MeganMac17 Posts: 90 Member
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    Sure, why not? But if it's caffeinated, you should probably limit to 1-2 cups a day! And brew your own if possible. I was surprised at all the extra crap in some of the store-bought iced teas.
  • Silky815
    Silky815 Posts: 367 Member
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    I would have to say yes. It starts out as water, but you are adding a tea bag, to give it some flavor.
  • faerybun
    faerybun Posts: 65
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    I like to have my hot tea, too. But usually, I try to drink water along with it. I'm pretty sure tea can dehydrate you, but there's a lot of debate over that.

    I would definitely make sure to make some effort to drink water [:
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
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    I drink really weak green tea that I brew and then pour into my stainless steel water bottle and sip on all day long because I don't like the non-taste of plain water. It works for me and it gets me to my water goals. Just one tea bag for 3 cups of water. It's got all sorts of good substances like catechins and antioxidants and whatnot and there's very little caffeine compared to black tea. White tea is also an excellent choice!
  • bettyboop573
    bettyboop573 Posts: 610 Member
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    I count my herbal caffeine free teas :)
  • lauz45
    lauz45 Posts: 243
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    As an english woman I live and breathe tea! It's funny how we are such a nation of tea drinkers over here - it's got to be hot tea with a splash of milk and 2 sweetners though :) It's full of antioxidants and mostly water so I don't see how it can be a bad thing...and has less caffeine than coffee. I'm an extremist though, I get through 6 mugs a day easy!
  • insanitylater
    insanitylater Posts: 10 Member
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    you can definitely do this and i personally drink about 4-5 cups throughout the day. the rest of the time i am drinking water and i start my day and end my night with a lot of water. coffee is more likely to dehydrate you. also no milk or sugar if your goal is weight loss. i've read that milk negates the benefits of tea anyway (personally i just drink it for taste and i like unsweetened tea best)

    ". It is a common perception is that caffeine-containing drinks cause a net loss in fluid and may lead to dehydration. Again, many of the studies investigating this have used high doses of caffeine, often as a bolus. When caffeine is given in this way, there is indeed evidence of a diuretic effect but this is not relevant to normal use of caffeine-containing beverages where the caffeine would be consumed with 200–250 ml of fluid."

    http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v61/n1/full/1602489a.html
  • Samiwhereareyou
    Samiwhereareyou Posts: 281 Member
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    I drink hot water and lemon with some honey. I like it better then tea.
  • Jtaime
    Jtaime Posts: 12
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    aboslutely, in the long run its just flavored water. just tell the barista unsweetned (thats where the calories pop in lol )
  • katemarjoram
    katemarjoram Posts: 203
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    I don't count my morning caffeinated chai tea (with milk) in my water intake but I do count the three or four herbal teas that I have during the day towards my water intake.
  • jenpet1980
    jenpet1980 Posts: 18 Member
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    I drink green tea (iced) that I brew at home, I rarely drink water plain. I make a gallon at a time, boil 2-3 cups water steep 8 organic green tea bags for 5-10 mins dilute with the rest of the water and 4 splenda packs. I have been feeling so healthy since I started drinking more green tea.

    Side note I have also started drying out my tea bags, then I empty them into a tupperware to save for my beauty treatments.
    use 1/2 cup oatmeal
    2 tbsp green tea
    1 tbsp honey
    1 tbsp lemon juice
    apply like a mask leave on for 15 mins once a week. or use as a gentle scrub.

    My skin is so bright and fresh feeling!!!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    It's fine.
  • judychicken
    judychicken Posts: 937 Member
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    My doctor told me if it is decaf I can count as water tea and coffee.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Neither coffee or tea will dehydrate you the amounts you'd have to drink to have that sort of effect would be astronomical. They have the same hydrating properties as water so don't worry. There have been numerous studies over the past few years confirming this
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
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    I like to have my hot tea, too. But usually, I try to drink water along with it. I'm pretty sure tea can dehydrate you, but there's a lot of debate over that.

    I would definitely make sure to make some effort to drink water [:

    If by "debate" you mean "misunderstanding", then yes, you are exactly right.

    The diuretic effect of the caffeine in tea is ridiculously inconsequential when compared to the water that comes with it.

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